What is Rubberwood and How to Make Use of it?

Do you have a fascination to curve your home interiors with moderately hard, and medium textured wood furnishing? Then, rubberwood is your thing!  When interior experts are looking for different choices for the right wood material that they should go for, rubberwood emerges as one of the most effective options.

For those who are looking for attractive, durable, and affordable exotic hardwood for interior furnishings, rubberwood furniture is a popular choice for furniture. After getting connected with home furnishing retailers, you will find that it’s available in a wide variety of colors, followed by beautiful finishes and grains.

Living room with cabinet with books in the background, two armchairs and a table
Used with permission of Summit Drive Design

Let’s draw the basic idea of what rubberwood is all about.

By now, though, we’re familiar with the fact that rubberwood is meant to be used in furniture, yet what is rubberwood? After nine years of living, the rubber tree starts to mature and latex production starts. The latex production continues until the tree reaches an age of twenty-five to thirty years. When the tree remains unproductive for latex production, it is harvested for other purposes. It is after the latex production starts, the trunk and stems of the rubber tree is great to be used as a furniture building material.

To keep you informed, you will find that many countries harvest and specialise in building rubberwood furniture models and export them to potential buyers throughout the world. . After treating the wood with preservatives, you will find that it’s perfect for indoor and outdoor usages. To be precise, this particular wood material is used for constructing particleboard, veneer, and medium-density fibreboard.

Characteristics of Rubberwood

After a check on the characteristics of this wood, it will help you to decide on the right type of rubberwood furniture for your needs. You will be surprised to know that the wood material features the Janka hardness, a rating of 980 newtons. This wood is so tough that for making a dent on this surface, you need to hit it with a  steel ball bearing. In comparison to the coniferous species of teak and black walnut, it is harder and much softer than birch or oak. It is very rare to find rubberwood as the unfinished material because the wood has very little resistance to fungus and rot. Although, you will find it as a sustainable forest product.

Usability of the Product

Dining room with table and chairs around it
Used with permission of Summit Drive Design

The furniture industry comes up with a wide variety of rubberwood products. More often, you will find common furniture made of rubberwood. The rubberwood furniture includes interior millwork, cabinetry, desks, chairs. Also, you have the privilege to make use of kitchen accessories such as knife blocks, and cutting boards with rubberwood. Small pieces of rubberwood are glued together and panels are created to make chair seats, tabletops, and trays.

After citing the popularity of rubberwood furniture, let’s check the viable applications.

Applications of the Wood

You will find the application of the rubberwood in some of the practice areas. Most often, the molding and the joinery industry such as the parquet or staircase or strip flooring make use of it. In this guide, you will come to know other relative uses of rubberwood. These are mainly made to serve the construction of shelves, wooden floors, fine art handicraft products, framing, 3D engraving and printing of wood. The manufacturers use rubberwood in making interior styled display showrooms, cinema chairs, and outdoor furniture that they want to be resistant to termites, mold, and water retention.

Why Should You Go for Rubberwood?

The Durability

If you look from a furniture building perspective, the durability of the rubberwood is incomparable to other hardwoods. It is way more durable than other varieties.  Due to its characteristic of being a very sustainable wood material, the demand for rubberwood has increased remarkably and thus, the plantations have also taken a leap.

Low Cost Furniture

Wow! you have the option of purchasing cost-effective furniture made out of rubberwood. It’s a by-product, so you can avail it at a lower cost. As an alternative to the fibreboard and the MDF, rubberwood is much more preferred by people for its affordability.  It is known as a potent form of the economical ‘real wood’ alternative.

Other Factors

Hall with table, chair and umbrellas
Used with permission of Summit Drive Design

If you choose rubberwood, you can play with the colours of your furniture.  If you purchase furniture made of fresh rubberwood, you will see that they come in creamy brownish color. But, if you go for dried rubberwood, you will get a darker look as after the drying process of the wood, the colour changes, 

 Rubberwood can also be stained to give an oak or cherry like look. To keep you informed, the rubberwood garin comprises a nice coarse appearance.

 For better appearance and usability of the product, you are free to paint this wood. Listen to the instructions in painting the rubberwood. Use the acrylic primer, followed by an undercoat, and two coats of gloss finish.

Most importantly, it’s fire resistant. In comparison to other solid wood furniture, there is less risk of this wood gets damaged by fire.

How to Keep Your Rubberwood Safe?

While investing funds in the new rubberwood furniture, you should know about the maintenance tips of this plant based product. To keep it looking new for a longer period of time, you should avoid leaving the rubberwood furniture in excessively hot places. The surface color of the wood may get faded. So, keep them away from the sun when the days are hotter. Keep using rubberwood furniture continuously. If you keep them unused for a long time, they will deteriorate.

Also, rubberwood furniture should be wiped off if any liquid is spilled over them to keep them safe Also, don’t keep hot pots and hot cups directly on the surface; this will cause white rings to appear on the wood surface.  The best way to use rubberwood tables is to invest a little more in buying the coasters and potholders.

Thanks to homedesignnow.com for consulting.

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